Sophomores Trenton Stringari and Jared Mews didn't score until the fourth quarter on Friday night, but when pressure time came they stepped into the spotlight.

Stringari had all 10 of his points in crunch time and Mews had seven in the final quarter as the Cañon City Tigers claimed a 70-62 win against Elizabeth in the Tiger Dome.

"Both of them are good athletes and they're very confident," Tigers coach Greg Baxter said. "They were tremendous. The game got really tight, and neither one of them looked like they were nervous. Trenton really gave us a couple big hoops to keep them at bay."

Junior Gunner Javernick led the Tigers with 16 points, and Blake Madone had 15. Madone was also key in the fourth as he scored eight points and showed good court vision.

The Tigers went into the quarter down one but Mews hit an opening 3-pointer that sparked a 12-0 run.

"That was a huge shot for us," Baxter said. "It happens in games where you feel the big shot, the momentum shift, and I think that was one of them."

Other than Mews' 3-pointer, he poured in his other four points going perfect from the line. As a team, the Tigers were 19 for 26 on foul shots.

Many of Stringari's damage came on open layups, which he said is the style he likes to play.

"I like to run the floor," Stringari said. "I know I'm going to get swatted if I don't, so I like to run the floor and get the easy layups."

Stringari credited the point guards for their fourth-quarter play, especially Madone.

The Tigers shot 8 for 14 in the quarter from the field and 12 for 17 at the line. They entered the double bonus early in the fourth, and the Tigers shot 14 free throws in the final minute, making nine of them.

Jacob Gavitt had a game-high 25 points for the Cardinals and Cal Ross had 15.

Elizabeth is now 3-5, but its losses don't tell the story of its season. Three of the Cardinals' five losses have come to Class 4A's top teams -- No. 2 Valor Christian, No. 3 D'Evelyn and No. 8 Wasson.

Jared Mews

The Tigers (3-4) don't have long to celebrate their win, they'll be back in action at 4 p.m. Saturday in Colorado Springs when they travel to Vista Ridge.